Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Huge thanks to Hubert O'Heirn of BY THE BOOK REVIEWS & SAN DIEGO BOOK REVIEWS for this review of THE GAME CHANGER....

“The GAME CHANGER is absolute top drawer crime writing by Ireland's finest crime writer.
You will spend a very pleasant series of hours untying the knots of a perfectly
tangled plot, and then the real fun starts when you follow the line that leads
from the crime to – YOU.Louise Phillips's fourth novel, The Game Changer, is a psychological thriller that really should demand that a lot of other so-called psychological thrillers give up their false identity....a real psychological thriller like The Game Changer is actually about something. This is the sort of crime novel that involves learning as a subversive activity; an exploration into the darker current of the mind while playing the great old game of WHODUNNIT?"

Monday, August 24, 2015

Well journalist Anne Marie Scanlon was the first to finish THE GAME CHANGER...."I was gripped....finished and enjoyed it immensely, loved the #TheGameChanger idea, fascinated by cults... Congratulations it's GREAT.."PHEW!!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

IRISH TIMES LITERARY LINE UP....September Launches in the Gutter Bookshop....In crime fiction, Louise Phillips’s new novel The Game Changer launches on Tuesday, September 8th, while the launch for A Hollow in the Hills by Ruth Frances Long takes place the following evening, September 9th. Lastly, the short story writer ER Murray launches her anticipated debut children’s novel The Book of Learning on Tuesday, September 15th READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

If you're an Irish author and you're going to the launch of The Game Changer (and you're not shy) will you message me on Facebook, twitter, email or comment here. There will be video interviews done at the launch on the 8th September by the website 'Irish Interest'!

The writing workshop as part of Tallafest​ on Saturday was fantastic. Set in the historic St Maelruain’s church, the atmosphere was fueled with smells of incense and an overwhelming sense of not only the past, but of the coming together of people with a strong desire to write!

Sunday, August 16, 2015

I've spent most of the day writing a piece on 'My Life in Books. Honestly, it was like choosing between your closest friends. I eventually got the list down from 20 to the required 6.....but I'm happy, even if I would be much happier if I could put the other 14 back in!!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

You case you haven't heard....THE GAME CHANGER has a murderous cult leader as one of the principle players. In the novel, this character displays many traits of narcissism, which makes this quiz a little interesting by way of finding out how narcissistic you are.....

If during the ordering process, the personalised message link on the 'Notes to Bookseller' section does not appear, there is no need to be concerned. The Gutter Bookshop will always email the customer once the order is placed to see if they want a personalised message. They won't miss it. So, if you can't make the launch and you'd like to reserve a Signed and Dedicated copy, "you can request one from the Gutter Bookshop on 01 6799206, or via info@gutterbookshop.com or via their Signed 1st Editions site (see Order Link Above) Include your dedication info in the 'Notes to Bookseller section' or await their confirmation of your order where the Gutter team will double-check any dedications you require."

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Reading Ireland is a new on-line quarterly publication founded by Dundalk native Adrienne Leavy to promote Irish literature and contemporary Irish writing, both in Ireland and in the United States.

Here is what the editor Adrienne Leavy had to say:-

“Each issue will focus on a specific genre or type of literature. For example, the summer issue, which was recently published, Reading Ireland focused on Irish crime fiction. Contributors included award winning Irish crime fiction writers Louise Phillips and Declan Burke, along with regular guest columnist Des Kenny from Kennys Bookshop in Galway.

In the autumn, the focus will be on poetry, and the winter issue will concentrate on Irish drama. In recognition of the vital contribution that Little Magazines have historically made to the promotion of Irish literature and culture, each issue will also look at a Little Magazine from the past. Issue one can be downloaded at no cost under the subscribe tab on the website www.readingireland.net For more information, please contact Adrienne atleavya@cox.net”

For a snippet from my article on the Rise of Irish Crime Fiction, see below…..

Irish Crime Fiction – Emerald Noir or Emerald Diversity?

There has been a lot of discussion of late about the rise of Irish crime fiction, and rightly so. Over the last decade we’ve seen a remarkable growth in Irish crime fiction writing, with more Irish writers than ever choosing the crime genre for creative expression. People have coined phrases such as Emerald Noir or Celtic Crime, to encompass this phenomenon, but it is more than the increased numbers of Irish writers now exploring the genre, it is also the wide diversity of their work, the sub-genres within it, the topics, location and settings, and the variety by which Irish crime fiction is portraying a sense of not only how we feel about the world around us, but how we choose to write about it.

Irish crime fiction was described as being a very big tent by Dr Brian Cliff, Assistant Professor in English and Director of Irish Studies at Trinity College Dublin. During the last crime fiction festival held at the college, a festival which had unprecedented numbers attending, when asked about Irish crime fiction, he said, “Irish novelists set their work as far afield as Jane Casey’s London, John Connolly’s America, and Conor Fitzgerald’s Rome, and they do so with a broad palette from psychological crime novels to international thrillers, from socially engaging hard-boiled fiction to supernatural mysteries.”

John Connolly and many others believe that Irish crime fiction has reached its own Golden Age, not simply because of the numbers of Irish authors now writing within the field, and the diversity involved, but also because of the high quality in terms of adventurousness and critical acclaim. “It’s a kind of coming of age for Irish crime fiction,’ says John, the creator of the highly successful Charlie Parker series.

Inevitably, with an explosion in artistic expression, covering both historical and contemporary fiction, the big question is why is Irish Crime fiction booming?

Some link the creative development to the rise and fall of the so called Celtic Tiger in Ireland, and there are good arguments to support this, not least of which is the realisation that crime fiction is so often drawn to explore society and the interactions which exist, especially when people are tested. Certainly, there has been a massive period of change in Ireland, one which has left a number of questions unanswered about Irish society. On face value, this social change may not appear to be obviously connected to the rise in Irish historical crime writing, with novelists such as Kevin Mc Carthy, Michael Russell, Anthony Quinn, Andrew Hughes, Conor Brady and Stuart Neville, writing about times past, but in many ways the rise in historical crime fiction makes sense, as it is an effective means of questioning who we are as a people, by going back and reflecting on what has gone before……To Download a FREE copy of Reading Ireland click HERE

THE GAME CHANGER

Irish Judge EU Prize for Literature 2015

Amazon Number 1 Bestseller in Irish Crime Fiction

The Game Changer

Irish Independent Review of LAST KISS

Click Image to View "Last Kiss is superior and takes her writing to another, more intense level - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."

San Francisco Book Review - LAST KISS

Click Image to View "Phillips is certainly equal to James Patterson, Sara Paretsky, and Patricia Cornwell. LAST KISS has echoes of Basic Instincts, however Phillips takes it to much more interesting places."

Sunday Independent - Queens of the Irish Crime Scene

"Phillips is superb at suspense and at conjuring up a dark menacing atmosphere."

BBC Radio Ulster - LAST KISS

“Once you start reading, you have to keep going. Phillips deserves to be known well beyond these shores. This is not just an Irish Crime thriller-it’s among the best crime writing in the world- top notch thriller."

EURO CRIME - LAST KISS

“This book is superb! A chilling and original storyline about nature versus nurture, it has you hooked right from the very first page - It has an ending that you just can't see coming!" Highly Recommended”

IRISH TIMES - LAST KISS

"The blend of first and third-person narratives gives the story great pace...Phillips is exploring the dark matter of damaged sexual identity…. the abiding impression is of the empathy Phillips evokes on behalf of her lethal but fragile anti-heroine."

Mansion House, Dublin

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2015

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2014

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2013

WINNER of BEST IRISH CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2013 - IRISH BOOK AWARDS

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Praise for The Doll's House

‘A real page turner - Phillips’ book is laced with tension and gradually builds to a thrilling finale. What’s particularly great about the novel is the author’s fearlessness in delving into the darker recesses of the Irish capital.’